Salon Session: Measuring Economic Impact

Salon Chair: Bill Owens, Senior Vice President, Economics Research Associates (Washington, DC)
Panelists: Bruce Katsiff, Chief Executive Officer, James A. Michener Art Museum (Doylestown, PA);
Theresa Cameron, Director of Membership, Americans for the Arts (Washington, DC)

Children’s museums and other nonprofit organizations can have substantial effects on the economic well being of individuals,
families and communities. Increasing commerce is one very direct way, but other ways of influencing the economic health of a
community include increasing access to public benefits and important services that no other organization provides. To measure
this impact, museums must identify good indicators — ones that are action-focused, measurable and simple. Experts will discuss
how to effectively measure a museum’s social, economic and environmental impacts on its community and how to use that
information to build support for the museum.

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Management in a Challenging Economy

Salon Chair: Julia Bland, Executive Director, Louisiana Children’s Museum (New Orleans)
Panelists: Suzanne Steffans, Senior Consultant, Community Wealth Ventures (Washington, DC); Robert Casselman, Manager, Technology Consulting, Accenture (New York, NY)

Tough economic times mean nonprofit leaders must look critically at their budgets, struggle with immediate and long-term decisions and think creatively about new ways to generate revenue and support. How can museums achieve sustainability while staying true to their missions, ensure value to customers and stakeholders and prosper in the long term? While it is an objective of
almost all nonprofits, achieving sustainable growth is easier said than done. Led by experienced consultants in nonprofit management, this salon will help participants understand the drivers of sustainability and what organizations need to do to address long-term sustainability and even flourish in today’s economy.

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Making an Impact Together: Museum Mentorships

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Speakers: Adam Woodworth, Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn; Sasha Best, Texoma Children’s Museum

Whether a museum is in its first two years of development or launching a multimillion dollar capital campaign, challenges are
a frequent occurrence in the nonprofit sector. No matter the level of development, encouragement and guidance from institution to institution can provide a valuable base of support. This session will illustrate how developing a mentor-mentee relationship can
benefit both institutions, as well as the industry as a whole.

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Exhibit Nuts and Bolts for Newbies (and old Pros too!)

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Speakers: Paul Orselli, Paul Orselli Workshop – POW!

Panelists will provide exhibit development resources and hands-on examples of nuts and bolts materials for newbies,
as well as old pros. Participants will learn where to find unique and inexpensive materials for exhibit and program development,
as well as how best to creatively utilize resources in the immediate community.

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Building Community Partnerships for Emerging Children’s Museums

Speaker: Jillian Fritch-Stump, Bakersfield Adventures for the Mind

Engaging families, educators, corporate partners and community leaders helps place emerging museum projects on the
forefront of collaboration and community building. Key community partnerships require innovation, structure, specific memoranda
of understanding and follow through. Receive examples, forms and practical information that may be utilized by emerging children’s museum projects throughout the country.

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Arts Open House: Parts One & Two • Programs/Education

Speakers: Lucas Skorczeski, Portland Children’s Museum; Alice Gonglewski, Please Touch Museum;
Lorna Kent, Please Touch Museum; Danielle Black, Miami Children’s Museum;Jillian Finkle, National Children’s Museum;
Tamara Golden, Chicago Children’s Museum

Museums make an impact with visual arts, theater, music, dance and other aspects of the arts! In this two-part session, ask
questions and learn tricks that will allow you to show the world how your children’s museum plays a starring role in helping
children become creative thinkers and creative artists.

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Parenting Counts • Programs/Education

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Speakers: Debbie Kray, Children’s Museum of Tacoma; Stacy Winegardner, KidsQuest Children’s Museum;
Anne Kluesner, The Children’s Museum of Denver

What happens when children’s museums join forces with national parenting campaigns? Big impact! Learn how children’s
museums in the Northwest collaborated with Talaris Institute to implement Parenting Counts and how The Children’s Museum
of Denver works with the Mile High United Way to use Born Learning materials. Hear evaluation results indicating the impact of
these campaigns on parenting. Find out how to provide parents with the best possible resources that capitalize on teachable
moments through play.

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Surviving a Small Market • Marketing/Public Relations

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Speakers: Karen Coltrane, Children’s Museum of Richmond; Eric Kerchner, Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem;
Neil Laton, KidSenses Children’s InterACTIVE Museum

Museums in rural locations and small cities face specific challenges when it comes to cultivating audiences. Competing with
larger areas or cross-town museums can be difficult. This informative session will break down the benefits of incorporating
programming, marketing and development strategies to secure a solid audience base.

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Five Minute Media Matinee (Popcorn Included) • Marketing/Public Relations

Speakers: Liza Reich Rawson, Brooklyn Children’s Museum; Gail Ringel, Boston Children’s Museum;
Herminia Wei-Hsin Din, Ph.D., University of Alaska, Anchorage

Museums are increasingly using media outlets and devices to advance their promotional and educational goals. This is
your chance to sit back, relax and enjoy the show! View a series of short media pieces from children’s museums, including
innovative, experimental and small-budget examples. Discover how in-house promotions, PSAs, funding appeals,
advertisements, trainings, exhibits, etc., can have an even stronger impact.

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How to Motivate Visitation • Marketing/Public Relations

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Speakers: Fran Lytle, Brand Champs; Bill Lytle, Brand Champs

During this interactive session presented by premiere brand strategists and consumer behaviorists, participants will learn
how to develop marketing initiatives, Web initiatives and a communication strategy that will bring visitors to the museum.

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Measure-by-Measure, City-by-City • Leadership

Speakers: Julie Hawkins, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; Ra Joy, Illinois Arts Alliance

Professionals representing cultural organizations in Chicago and Philadelphia discuss the crucial role that children’s museums
play in shaping the cultural fabric of the community. Participants will discover how these institutions fit into the bigger picture of
arts impact in major U.S. cities.

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Leadership Transition: How Boards and CEOs Must Plan • Leadership

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Speaker: Richard King, Kittleman & Associates

Only one out of three nonprofits currently have a leadership transition plan; most are out of date or only address emergency interim
leadership contingencies. Yet risk management and contingency planning must include CEO leadership transition not only as a
response to retirement but also as a response to an unplanned, permanent or extended absence. This session will present Seven
Steps to Leadership Transition Planning, a universal tool for nonprofits that combines succession planning, leadership development
and strategic directions unique to the organization.

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Mission Impact: Measuring Success at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis • Leadership

Speakers: Jeffrey Patchen, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis; Barbara Wolf, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

How is mission success measured and reported? The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis will share its benchmarking initiative,
reveal its family learning assessment tools and discuss how these measuring devices, along with trend analysis, help the museum
report its mission and strategic goal accomplishments.

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Is Bigger Better? • Leadership

Speakers: Neil Gordon, Boston Children’s Museum; Paul Pearson, Brooklyn Children’s Museum;
Jane Werner, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh

Children’s museums champion small, personal, intimate experiences for families. When success leads to talk of expansion,
what happens to the children’s museum brand? Are museums becoming “super-sized,” or are children’s museums “right-sizing” themselves to accommodate an ever expanding audience? This session highlights leaders from institutions that have dramatically expanded or have elected to stabilize institutional growth. Panelists will describe reasons for expansion or containment and assess
the impact these decisions have on mission fulfillment.

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Declare your Impact and Success with Strategic Planning

Speakers: Sarah Orleans, Portland Children’s Museum; Sheridan Turner, Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago; Tanya Andrews, Children’s Museum of Tacoma; Laura Foster, Please Touch Museum

Only through strategic planning can museums identify ways they can serve and impact a community. This session will give examples of how four museums — small, medium and large — navigated the quest to become bigger and better, and in doing so declared their capacity for community impact. Hear the challenges, the pitfalls, the ups and the downs through real life stories from individuals who have truly been there!

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Managing Through Tough Economic Times: Key Issues & Problem Solving

Speakers: Sarah Caruso, Minnesota Children’s Museum; John Durel, QM2; Anita Durel, QM2; Sheridan Turner, Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago

The experts say, "Never waste a good recession," but what does this mean for children’s museums? How are these institutions weathering the tough economic storm? This leadership session, born out of ACM’s monthly CEO Conference Call series, offers participants the opportunity to share experiences, gather facts and hear about what is working in the field. Attendees will leave with renewed energy to lead during these difficult times.

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Making your Numbers Count

Speakers: Kayla Dove, Brooklyn Children’s Museum; Sara Inveen, Children’s Museum of Tacoma

Learn how data can be interpreted and presented to inform museum practices, measure impact of educational programming and maximize funding. This session will allow participants to share and compare how their museum uses evaluation and to learn new ways to improve the process.

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A-Zs of Writing your Case

Speakers: Deborah Spiegelman, Miami Children’s Museum; Evelyn Foster, Capital Development Services;
Rovert Brais, ConsultEcon, Inc .

Make an impact on the public by developing a compelling case for support. Learn all of the components and discuss the benefits
of incorporating economic impact into a case for support. The result: a children’s museum that stands out in an ever more
competitive philanthropic marketplace.

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So you Want to Build a Climber

Speakers: Michael Shearin, Lexington; Patti Drum, Lexington; Kate Reed, Skirball Cultural Center; Felicia Jones, The Children’s Museum of Memphis; Tom Luckey, Luckey Climbers, LLC; Rick Erwin, City Museum

Climbing structures are on the drawing boards of many children’s museums and provide exciting, imaginative physical play for
guests. However, climbers can create a number of major issues if not done correctly. Join the discussion with a group of seasoned professionals and tackle the development, design and construction issues inherent in these dramatic structures. Allay fears
concerning climbing structures today and be on the path to building one tomorrow!

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How to Get the Right People on the Bus

Speaker: Peter Buonincontro, Portland Children’s Museum

Staff teams within children’s museums impact everything from the visitor’s first impression to how children interact with the exhibits. This session will explore the hiring process, including what essential skill sets to look for in a candidate, important red flags and personality types, as well as how to motivate, retain and grow your successful team once the right people are on the bus.

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